The right distro for my inlaws

[rmcellig]

My sister's mother in law is fed up with her Windows computer so I suggested she try Linux. She is in her mid-seventies, so I am looking for a distro that is easy to maintain, understand and use. One thing she wants to be able to do is access Netflix.

I would really appreciate feedback on which distro(s) I should consider. I might put more than one distro on the Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop just so she has options.

Thanks for the advice!!

[austin.texas]

I think Mint 17 Mate would be great for that machine.

[rmcellig]

I was thinking of installing that as well. Would it be advisable to install the RC that is currently available or wait for the official release?

Does this version have Netflix pre-installed? If not is it pretty straight forward installing it in Mint?

[austin.texas]

Would it be advisable to install the RC that is currently available or wait for the official release?

It is very probable that upgrading from the Mint 17rc to the official release will be a simple matter of updating with the Update Manager. There is no guarantee on that. If unexpected problems occur, they could make a new version.

Does this version have Netflix pre-installed? If not is it pretty straight forward installing it in Mint?

No version of Mint comes with Netflix. The only thing I know about getting it working is that I have heard comments from people who have done that.

[Pierre]

Neflix is more a browser based service, than a bit of software.
- it's really aimed at people who won't to watch US based shows.

you can just subscribe to their service.

- as far as the inlaws go, a copy of Mint 17 should work well, for them.
assuming that they are an average internet user. ..

[solarcat]

No, Netflix is not purely browser based. It relies on the MS Silverlight plugin for DRM. There's no support for that on Linux other than via Wine or in a VM.

The official Netflix system requirements page mentions zero support for Linux. Just WIndows, Mac, and ChromeOS.

This How to Watch Netflix in Linux guide seems authoritative and accurate, but I haven't tried it myself.

[Jedinovice]

Netflix aside, if you're dealing with 70 year olds who are used to WIndows perhaps Zorin, the Windows lookalike rending maybe what you're after?

http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/2014/0 ... -than.html

[ZebOfComputers]

Graphically speaking: If she is coming from Windows XP / Vista, I think Mint, either Cinnamon or Mate, would be easy for her to adapt to. If she's coming from 7 and has a decently powerful computer, maybe Unity-Ubuntu might be something she should try. However, I know I've set up relatives with Xubuntu and Lubuntu, and they're loving it so far.
Support speaking: I love Mint's update manager, as it's so careful to not break your system. If you can teach her to regularly install updates, all should be golden.

Whatever DE / distro you go with, onto the Netflix thing:
http://pipelight.net/cms/install/instal ... buntu.html
That is the official instructions for installing Pipelight on Ubuntu-based systems (Mint 17 is included in this category, as you are probably aware). Pipelight is WINE-based software which hosts plugins like Silverlight and Widevine in a way that they hook into native Linux browsers via the Netscape Plugin API. After following those install instructions, you'll want to make sure you actually enable those plugins. (In your case, "sudo pipelight-plugin --enable silverlight".)
Lastly, to get Netflix to allow you to view video content, you need to give it a non-Linux user-agent string. There are some good directions at the bottom of this page:
http://www.webupd8.org/2013/08/pipeligh ... linux.html
Personally, in my use of Firefox 29 when setting up linux machines for people, what I do is install UAControl, "customize" it to send this string: "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:29.0) Gecko/20120101 Firefox/29.0" only on "netflix.com", and then I hide the button from the taskbar, so Netflix "just works," without concern from the user.

Hope I was helpful. As a new Linux user, coming from Windows, I am delving deep into that stage of asking "What do I need to do to do X that I did in Windows?" and, although Pipelight isn't the only way to use Netflix in Linux, it's my preferred way. (For another option, search for "Linux Netflix Desktop.")

[MartyMint]

My sister's mother in law is fed up with her Windows computer so I suggested she try Linux.

You might want to look into what it is about Windows that has her "fed up" first...

[Domingo Medina]

Graphically speaking: If she is coming from Windows XP / Vista, I think Mint, either Cinnamon or Mate, would be easy for her to adapt to. If she's coming from 7 and has a decently powerful computer, maybe Unity-Ubuntu might be something she should try. However, I know I've set up relatives with Xubuntu and Lubuntu, and they're loving it so far.
Support speaking: I love Mint's update manager, as it's so careful to not break your system. If you can teach her to regularly install updates, all should be golden.

Whatever DE / distro you go with, onto the Netflix thing:
http://pipelight.net/cms/install/instal ... buntu.html
That is the official instructions for installing Pipelight on Ubuntu-based systems (Mint 17 is included in this category, as you are probably aware). Pipelight is WINE-based software which hosts plugins like Silverlight and Widevine in a way that they hook into native Linux browsers via the Netscape Plugin API. After following those install instructions, you'll want to make sure you actually enable those plugins. (In your case, "sudo pipelight-plugin --enable silverlight".)
Lastly, to get Netflix to allow you to view video content, you need to give it a non-Linux user-agent string. There are some good directions at the bottom of this page:
http://www.webupd8.org/2013/08/pipeligh ... linux.html
Personally, in my use of Firefox 29 when setting up linux machines for people, what I do is install UAControl, "customize" it to send this string: "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:29.0) Gecko/20120101 Firefox/29.0" only on "netflix.com", and then I hide the button from the taskbar, so Netflix "just works," without concern from the user.

Hope I was helpful. As a new Linux user, coming from Windows, I am delving deep into that stage of asking "What do I need to do to do X that I did in Windows?" and, although Pipelight isn't the only way to use Netflix in Linux, it's my preferred way. (For another option, search for "Linux Netflix Desktop.")

There are many people have problem with pipeline, you should not install pipeline and then install netflix, read the comments below this guide http://www.namhuy.net/1867/how-to-insta ... edora.html

[ZebOfComputers]

There are many people have problem with pipeline, you should not install pipeline and then install netflix, read the comments below this guide http://www.namhuy.net/1867/how-to-insta ... edora.html

Yes, sorry, I didn't clarify, but I am aware, and agree, that only one should be installed/active on a machine at a time.

Further update: Netflix is supporting HTML5 [with DRM]! It's currently only available in Chrome's Dev-build, but I expect it to trickle out to other browsers, shortly. Also, they may soon (although they have not yet) officially supported Linux, so the user-agent-changer, although currently still required, may also be a thing of the past, shortly.

[Dutchmaster]

For Netflix, open terminal and run these 3 in succession:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ehoover/compholio

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install netflix-desktop

It works great!

The first time you use it there will be a few instructions to install wine components. Just click on install. It's all automated and easy.